Retired cops: Legalize drugs
Erik Myers
Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: News
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Having spent 36 years as an officer with the Denver Police Department, Tony Ryan holds a rather unusual belief on the national drug policy: it needs to go.
Ryan, a speaker with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), will be speaking at the North Wing of Clark A103 Thursday at 5:30 p.m. After Ryan's lecture, a question and answer session will take place, and following that, an informal discussion at Cheeba Hut.
Debate over the legalization of illegal drugs has gained momentum in recent years, particularly in Colorado. In 2005, voters in Denver legalized possession of a single ounce of marijuana. Last year, Amendment 44, which would've decriminalized the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana across Colorado, was voted down.
No such legislation has surfaced for Larimer County specifically, and drug-related incidents have declined since 2005.
A total of 97 drug-related arrests were made in 2006, a considerable low compared to the 175 arrests in 2005. While statistics for 2007 are not prepared for publication, Fort Collins has seen few large-scale crackdowns over the year, including one incident where law enforcement officials seized $43,000 worth of marijuana, cocaine and LSD among other substances from two residences.
While such debate persists across the country, officers involved with LEAP suggest a more radical idea. According to LEAP's mission statement as displayed on their website, www.leap.cc, drug prohibition ought to be entirely eliminated, a move that would legalize usage of all drugs, including cocaine, heroin and meth. Instead, such drugs should come under regulation.
"The harm that a drug can cause is all the more reason why that drug should be regulated," said Mike Smithson, director of LEAP's Speakers Bureau. "The level of the danger a drug possesses is equivalent to the amount of control that should be had over it."
Smithson said prohibition only served to increase criminal activity. He compares the current "War on Drugs" to the Prohibition enactment of 1920, under which all alcohol was banned, arguing that both eras saw a massive amount of criminal activity and death related to poorly produced black market products.
Ryan, a speaker with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), will be speaking at the North Wing of Clark A103 Thursday at 5:30 p.m. After Ryan's lecture, a question and answer session will take place, and following that, an informal discussion at Cheeba Hut.
Debate over the legalization of illegal drugs has gained momentum in recent years, particularly in Colorado. In 2005, voters in Denver legalized possession of a single ounce of marijuana. Last year, Amendment 44, which would've decriminalized the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana across Colorado, was voted down.
No such legislation has surfaced for Larimer County specifically, and drug-related incidents have declined since 2005.
A total of 97 drug-related arrests were made in 2006, a considerable low compared to the 175 arrests in 2005. While statistics for 2007 are not prepared for publication, Fort Collins has seen few large-scale crackdowns over the year, including one incident where law enforcement officials seized $43,000 worth of marijuana, cocaine and LSD among other substances from two residences.
While such debate persists across the country, officers involved with LEAP suggest a more radical idea. According to LEAP's mission statement as displayed on their website, www.leap.cc, drug prohibition ought to be entirely eliminated, a move that would legalize usage of all drugs, including cocaine, heroin and meth. Instead, such drugs should come under regulation.
"The harm that a drug can cause is all the more reason why that drug should be regulated," said Mike Smithson, director of LEAP's Speakers Bureau. "The level of the danger a drug possesses is equivalent to the amount of control that should be had over it."
Smithson said prohibition only served to increase criminal activity. He compares the current "War on Drugs" to the Prohibition enactment of 1920, under which all alcohol was banned, arguing that both eras saw a massive amount of criminal activity and death related to poorly produced black market products.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 5
jimmy
posted 10/24/07 @ 8:09 AM MST
To the freshman who said there are too many drugs...I have seen too many peoples lives go down the drain!
That is the whole point, by legalizing the government instead of spending money can actually make money. (Continued…)
A Concerned Citizen
posted 10/24/07 @ 8:24 AM MST
Yeah, let's make laws discouraging drug use go - We'll save money punishing lawbreakers, but it's alright to let people destroy their lives and others. (Continued…)
Craig Hawley
posted 10/24/07 @ 4:29 PM MST
Hmmmmm Tough dilema. Let me smoke a bowl and get back to you guys on that.
Hey how come when I come to this site it keeps launching Trojan viruses. (Continued…)
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